The Maskedface
by desadevil
Summary: ABANDONED AU. Watch as the Potters neglect their elder son in favor of the younger, who was believed to be the boy who lived. Watch as Harry is abused and grows cold. Watch as Harry is lost to Darkness, forever.
1. Prologue

I don't own Harry Potter.

**Prologue****

* * *

**

It was a day Dumbledore would never forget.

25th June 1981, the term would end in a few days. Professor Chronis, the old Divination teacher, had decided to retire, so Hogwarts was in need of a Divination teacher. Dumbledore had received a letter from Sibyll Trelawney, the great-great granddaughter of a very famous seer. He went to a bar at Hogsmeade to meet the applicant.

The meeting however, was not very pleasant. It seemed that Trelawney didn't have her ancestor's gift. She was a fraud.

As Dumbledore turned to left, a loud, harsh voice stopped him.

"_The one with great power approaches..."_

Startled, Dumbledore turned back to her. Trelawney had gone rigid in her chair, her eyes unfocused.

"Excuse me, Miss Trelawney?" said Dumbledore.

Trelawney didn't respond. Her eyes had rolled into her head. She spoke again in the same harsh voice.

_"The one with great power approaches...  
Born to those who have thrice defied the Dark Lord,  
Born as the seventh month dies...  
He has the gift of the shadow,  
The combination of the Dark and Light...  
The one with the great power will be born as the seventh month dies..."_

Trelawney's head fell down to her chest before her head snapped up again.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster Dumbledore," said Trelawney in her usual dreamy voice, "I must have drifted off..."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "It doesn't matter, Miss Trelawney. You just drifted off a few seconds. Now, I'd like you to be our Divination teacher. Please fill in the application form and owl to Hogwarts. I'll connect you later." said Dumbledore giving her an application form.

"Oh, I'm so glad, Headmaster...I'll do my best to teach..." babbled Trelawney.

Dumbledore didn't pay attention to her babbling, instead he muttered a farewell and turned to leave. He had many to think.

The fact that Trelawney didn't know the episode halfway through their meeting was a relief. He didn't want anyone know it. He knew it was a prophecy, he heard that whenever a true seer make a prophecy, their eyes would roll back and their voice would turn harsh. The point is: who is this mystery 'the one with great power'? In the prophecy, it is obviously a boy, a boy that born 'as the seventh month dies', which means born at the end of July. The boy would be born to parents who had already defied Voldemort three times.

Until now, couples who defied Voldemort three times are the Potters and the Longbottoms, both their sons born at the end of July. Harry Potter, son of James and Lily Potter, was born at 31st July 1980, while Neville Longbottom, son of Frank and Alice Longbottom was born at 30th July 1980. They were both nine months old.

Dumbledore knew Lily Potter was pregnant again; the due date was also the end of July, next month. If it is a boy, he will have a bigger possibility to be the prophesied one.

The prophecy said the child would be important to both sides; he had great power and would make a good ally if he was raised in the light. Dumbledore decided to find out who it is and raise him in the light, then the child would be a useful weapon against Voldemort.

No one knows who it is amongst two boys and an unborn child; only time will tell.

But now Dumbledore has something he can do: tell the Order about the prophecy.

**TBC**


	2. Flicker of Light

I don't own Harry Potter. 

**Flicker of Light**

* * *

_He looked around and found that he was all alone, in the middle of a dark forest. The pale, bone white moon was hanging carelessly on the sky, highlighting every little leaf that was slowly falling to the ground. The deep lake reflected the weak rays of moonlight, like a torch of pale fire in the darkness of the night. That, and with the quietness of the forest, only made the atmosphere all the more mysterious. _

The one-year-old walked slowly towards a random direction in hope to escape the forest only to turn back when all he could see was darkness. The moonlight couldn't pass through the thick piles of leaves. He went back to the lake where the trees were not as many and sat beside the lake. It was getting cold; he must find the way to leave if he didn't want to freeze to death.

He jumped as a sudden strong light blinded his eyes. He forced his eyes to open regardless of the pain.

The light came from the middle of the lake. There was a dark shadow in the light and it strangely resembled a man.

He blinked as the light started to fade, before staring at the shadow, somehow unable to move. It was moving towards him...

"Ahh! Mummy! Daddy!" Harry Potter, the elder son of the Potters, screamed as he returned from the realm of dream, before realizing that his mummy and daddy were not here.

Lily and James Potter were at St. Mungo's that night. Harry vaguely recalled his mother telling him excitedly that he was going to have a little brother. He found her excitement a vivid contrast with his indifference.

Ever since his mother was pregnant with his brother, his parents were overjoyed by the idea and Lily was forbidden to do any of the housework. James was a horrible house worker. The meals he cooked were often burnt (which was not much worse than Lily's). There were no more good-night kisses, no more warm hugs, and Harry had to walk the stairs since he was nine months old… by himself.

Although he knew his parents still cared about him, Harry couldn't help but feel jealous of his brother. But, when he thought that his parents probably did the same when they were having him, he didn't feel jealous anymore.

It was late. He'd better sleep now if he didn't want to oversleep…

* * *

"Hey, are you Mr. Potter? Congratulations, you have just become a proud father of two sons! Your wi— oh! Please! Calm down Mr. Potter! Yes I know you're very nervous, but- put down my collar and let me continue, PLEASE! Good. your wife wants to name him Andrew, Andrew James Potter, named after you, isn't it just—AHH! MISTER POTTER! Violence is forbidden in the ward area! Please don't—AH!—OUCH! Okay, OKAY! I'll tell you! They are in room 214! It is over there. No, not that way! It is _there_, see? _No!_ Not there! It is- AH! I told you that violence is forbid—OHHH! _AHHHHH!_"

* * *

James rushed into the room, ignoring the meddlesome doctor. Really, the nerve of that man!

He looked around and found a pale Lily Potter lying on the bed. James immediately ran to hug her tightly.

"James... don't... don't do that... I can't breathe..." choked a weak voice. James let go of her, embarrassed, before he exclaimed loudly, "Where is him? Where is the boy?"

Lily pointed towards a cradle near the bed. "That is your son, Andrew."

James looked at his newborn son and then blinked for a few moments before grinning from ear to ear. "He is so much like me," James whispered as he held his son with uncharacteristic gentleness.

Andrew Potter was indeed like his father. He possessed the same round-topped nose and hazel eyes as James; and his hair was already untidy when he was just a baby. The only thing he inherited from his mother was his deep red hair, and with his eyes and nose, promising a handsome figure as he grew older.  
James tried to cuddle his son but instead got a punch in the face. Lily watched her husband and son, smiling happily, but then her smile turned wistful.

"James..." Lily's voice was soft, "Don't you think... this is a bit unfair for Harry?" said Lily, turning to gaze at the ceiling.

The Marauder stopped his attempted "talking" with Andre abruptly and hesitated for an instant before answering, "Of course not. This is, after all, for the good of the wizarding world."

Lily held her gaze for a while, and then looked down. "Maybe."

* * *

"Mummy?" The elder son of the Potters said quietly as he watched his mother milking a baby. It was just last night that his parents returned from the magical hospital. But he was asleep then, so he didn't see them.

"This is... brother?" asked the dark-haired child while looking at his brother curiously.

"Yes, Harry," said Lily with a fond smile, "his name is Andrew."

"Andwoo?"

"No, it is Andrew. Try again?"

"Adrew."

Lily leaned down and said, "An-drew."

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before he said, "An-drew. Andrew."

Lily watched as a bright smile spread over her son's face and he jumped up and down.

"Andrew. It's Andrew. I know! Yeah!"

They were interrupted by a grinning James who had just come down the stairs. "Hey, Lily," said James, "let me hold him."

The red-haired woman handed over her younger son carefully. James held his son with just as much care as Lily did, correcting his earlier carelessness. He pulled his son's little hands up as he cooed, "Ow, aren't you simply cute? I daresay, you will be handsome like your dad." Lily smiled, amused, and reached out to caress Andrew's little pink cheek. Surprisingly, the child cried out in agreement, which made the smiles on his parents' faces widen. They continued to feed him and play with him, temporarily forgetting the other child present.

All the while Harry watched silently with a smile that rivaled James and Lily's, and a jealousy that he hid from his face and even from himself. _It is just that my brother is still young,_ he convinced himself. _Of course mummy and daddy will care more for him. It will return to normal when my brother gets older._

* * *

It turned out that it didn't.

It was already several months since his brother was born and nothing had changed. If anything, it had gotten even worse.

Gone was the loving words that had often been said to him in meals; gone was the thoughtful touches and bedside stories that had always warmed Harry's heart. Although his parents did not ignore him, Harry still felt somewhat hollow. He wanted to take Andrew's place, to be his brother and receive all this attention he desperately wanted yet at the same time feeling guilty because of it.

Deep inside he still loved them.

"How's Andrew today?" Harry was jerked out of his reverie by his father's question. It was Halloween and they were having dinner. James had just come back from work.

_Why don't they ask,_ thought Harry, _"How's Harry today?"_

"Pretty much the same. He wouldn't stop screaming and I had to stop him," answered Lily.

James grinned. "Of course, he's my son," he said while running a hand though Andrew's short but messy hair. Lily pouted and then smiled too.

"Andrew, wanna drink milk?"

Andrew giggled loudly in James' arms. Lily took it as a yes and fed him milk.

Harry smiled to himself sadly. Of course they won't ask him.

"And Harry, do you want some too?"

Surprised, Harry snapped up his head to stare at his mother. He hesitated for a moment before he said, "Yes, thank you."

The red-haired woman smiled and Harry looked down as she started to pour some milk into his glass.

Had he bothered to look, he would find a Lily Potter looking at him with a strange guilty expression...

**TBC**


End file.
